This invention relates to armatures for conducting very large currents between parallel rails of electromagnetic launchers and more particularly to such armatures employing multiple conducting fibers to conduct current between the launcher rails.
In the electromagnetic propulsion of projectiles, a very large DC current is injected into the breech end of a pair of parallel conductive rails. A sliding conductive armature serves to conduct current between the rails and is subjected to an electromagnetic force which propels the armature and an associated projectile toward the muzzle end of the rails. Because of the high currents involved in the electromagnetic propulsion of projectiles, sliding conductive armatures must be designed to minimize electrical contact resistance, to have sufficient contact force to maintain a low contact voltage drop in order to prevent rail damage caused by arcing, to have sufficient compliance to accommodate both its own ware and changes in the distance between the launcher rails, and to minimize damage resulting from resistive heating. A fiber armature has been disclosed in a copending commonly assigned application entitled "Multiple Fiber Armatures for Electromagnetic Launchers", Ser. No. 328,887 filed Dec. 9, 1981 by Ross, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,205, which provides additional background information and is hereby incorporated by reference.